Meeting your baby for the first time is magical, although it’s likely he or she will turn your life upside down for some time. Here’s some insider advice from new parents about how to survive those first few days at home with your newborn.

How can I cope with the sleep deprivation?

"I wish I'd tried to sleep on the first night in hospital, instead of spending five hours staring at my baby to make sure he was breathing! I'd definitely recommend getting sleep whenever you can."
Sal

"Newborn babies need lots and lots of sleep. However, keeping them up more during the day doesn't make them sleep any better at night, it just makes you frazzled."
Zoe

"At three in the morning, remember that they aren’t babies forever, and eventually, you will get some sleep."
Stella

"Breast is best, but I would recommend giving your baby a bottle of expressed breastmilk as soon as breastfeeding is going well. If you're planning to go back to work eventually, it will really help in the long run, as it can be hard to get a breastfed baby to take a bottle. It also gives you a break, and the opportunity for your partner to bond further with your baby."
Ruth

How can I cope with my baby crying?

"Newborn babies cry; they don't always have to be settled and quiet. You will learn to tune in to your baby and her needs, but she also needs time to adjust to her new world."
Jo

"It's OK not to know what your baby wants at first when he cries. When you give birth, you aren't given a manual, so you have to figure things out day by day. You're both getting to know each other."
Kerry

"If the only way to stop your baby crying is to go for a ride in the car or the pram, then just do it."
Gita

How many changes of clothes does a baby need in a day?

"Don't even think of dressing your baby in anything but a one-piece suit for the first three months."
Eve

How do I cope with the visitors?

"Keep visitors to a bare minimum. Don't let them stay any longer than an hour, and don't be afraid to leave your partner with them and go to bed. You are a new mum and you need rest."
Jen

"When visitors arrive, have a list in your mind of things they can do. Ask them to put the kettle on and then hang a load of washing out or unpack the dishwasher."
Becky

"Don't let anyone visit for at least three days. Just enjoy your family time. Everything else can wait."
Kath

"I listened to advice about restricting visitors, but felt lonely and unimportant, and wondered why no one wanted to see my beautiful baby. So I changed my mind and let them in!"
Lucy

When will I get my life back?

"This little pink squealing thing will completely take over your life. You won't get to drink a hot cup of tea for at least two months. All your meals will go cold. You won't be bothered that you are covered in sick."
Carla

"I wish I'd known how time-consuming a newborn is. I had plans that I'd have a meal in the slow cooker ready for my partner to come home to, and the cleaning done. In reality, I'm lucky if I've managed to get dressed and brush my teeth."
Janine

"Whatever plans you have for the first few months of your child's life, whatever you think it'll be like or what you'll be able to do, forget them all. Your baby will dictate how those few months work, and they may well have different ideas to you."
Kate

"No matter how prepared you think you are, nothing anyone says, or does, will prepare you for the emotional rollercoaster of becoming a parent. You finally understand what true love is."
Jodie

"It's normal to feel hormonal and overwhelmed in the days and weeks after giving birth. Although I was warned about the baby blues, nothing could have prepared me for how much I cried. It was all down to a mixture of hormones, exhaustion, and recovering from the birth. I can laugh now about some of the stupid things I cried about, but at the time I felt like I was falling apart."
Fiona

What can I do to make life a bit easier?

"You can never have enough muslins!"
Emma

"Get the freezer stocked with good food, and have plenty of biscuits in the house to go with all those cups of tea!"
Grace

"Keep baby socks together in a net bag when you put them in the wash. You will get fed up with just finding odd ones, or leaving one behind in the washing machine."
Hayley

"You are allowed to have some time apart from your baby. It doesn't mean you're a failure."
Kayleigh

"You will probably break all your pre-mummy vows about routines, sleep, and feeding just to get some peace, or through necessity. Don't beat yourself up about it."
Mary

How do I capture those first precious days?

"I wish I had taken more family photos. Taking 50 a day doesn't seem enough looking back on them now!"
Sophie

"Film your baby as much as possible. Photos are nice, but it's so much easier to capture a personality on film."
Georgina

"Enjoy your baby. Sit and cuddle him, watch him sleep, let him gaze at your face, smell him and kiss him. Their newborn features don't last long."
Carla

"Keep a baby diary so that in later years you can remember when all those firsts happened."
Jill

How do I know if I’m doing the right thing?

"I wish I'd known that I would be fine, and I would grow in confidence as a mother. That I really did know what was best for my baby, and that I'd be nuts enough to want to do it again!"
Laura

"Although it sounds cheesy, love really is all you need. You may not be able to afford everything for your little one that you would have wanted, but your baby won't know or care. As long as you give them lots of love, you are being a great parent and your little one will think so, too."
Ang

Last reviewed: February 2014

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My 4weeks old baby boy sleeps mostly during daytime which affects his feeding, probably he is hungry. At night he sleeps but wakes up regularly for feeding. He is fed well at night but vomits frequently. This needs frequent dress changing and sleep disturbance. What can reduce his vomiting?

I'm having night time sleep trouble with my 4 wk old. She sleeps in her basket fine during the day, but at night she wheezes and snuffles like she's really bunged up as soon as I lay her flat. She doesn't have a cold or anything. Is this normal?

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